Safety switch



NOVe 9? 1937. W. ANDERSON 2,098,559

SAFETY SWITCH Filed Feb. 3, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l y I i g INVENTOR wwf/afa 22 W'LLEL'WAM ANDERSON TORNEY w. ANDERSON 2,098,559

SAFETY SWITCH Filed Feb. 3, 195e 2 sheeis-sheet 2 Fig. 5-

Nov. 9, 1937.

\\\\\\\` Hl-Q INVENTOR ILLIAM ANDE BY Komm Patented Nov. 9, 1937 y SAFETY SWITCH William Anderson, Bromley, Ky., assigner to The Trumbull Electric Manufacturing Company, Plainville, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application February 3, 1936, Serial No. 62,173

2 Claims. (Cl. 20D- 114) My invention relates to enclosed switches of an improved type.

One object is to provide 'a construction in which the line is always dead when the boxy is open.

Another object is to provide a construction in which the cover may be closed either with the contacts in the open circuit or in the closed circuit relation.

Another object is to provide an enclosed type switch in which it is possible to open the -cover with safety regardless ofl whether the circuit is closed or open.

Another object is to provide an enclosed type switch in which the opening of the cover opens the circuit.

Y of the switch without disconnecting the circuit which passes through it. l

Another obect is to increase safety when the casing is opened for inspection of the fuse, switch contacts, or terminal connections.

These and other objects are obtained by mounting the stationary switch contacts, with the fuses, in a receptacle or box with a movable cover. The cover carries a movable switch blade member and means to operate the blade member from outside of the receptacle. When the cover is opened, the blade member, carried by the cover, breaks all connections within the switch.

One embodiment is shown in the drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a front view of an enclosed switch embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, the parts being shown in the on position.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the device on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 3a is a detail of an insulating guard member.

Fig.' 4 is an enlargedY plan view of the device of Fig. 1 with the cover removed and parts shown broken away.

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the cover of the receptacle with the parts attached thereto.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view oi parts of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 5, shown in another position.

Fig. '7 is a section taken on the line 1--1 of Fig. 6.

- In the drawings a receptacle I0 is provided with a cover II, hinged at I2 to the receptacle. A hasp I3 may be provided, through which a padlock or seal may be inserted to lock the cover in closed position.

mounted within the receptacle. Clips or jaws Il and I 8 are provided for electrically connecting the fuses between the terminals I5 and the switch members. Each switch has a pair of sepa-rated contacts or jaws I9 and 20. Contact I9 is connected to terminal I4 and contact 20 is connected to a fuse clip I3 throughthe medium oi a connector strip 2li The terminals, fuse clips, switch jaws and connector strips are mounted upon, although insulated from the receptacle by means of an insulating base 22. 'I'his base carries insulating barriers 23 which screen each of the fuse clips` Il and I8 and switch jaws 2li from one another.

The other elements of the switches are mounted on the cover of the receptacle. These include movable switch members with depending blade portions 24 and 25 mounted on an insulating carrier block 26. This block is in turn secured to a slide 21 which is reciprocably mounted between guides 28 on the under surface or the receptacle cover Il.

In the cover II is provided an opening 29 through which switch position indicia 30 can be observed. 'Ihese -position indicators (on and oi) are attached to the slide'21.

Applied to the under surface oi the cover is a disc 3|, seated within a circular recess 32 and free to turn therein. A pin 33 is fastened to the under side of the disc 3l and this pin cooperates with a recess or slot 34 yprovided in the slide 21.

To hold the disc 3| within the recess 32 a.`n upper disc 35 is provided, secured to the lower disc 3| by means of rivets 36. This upper disc carries a handle 31, for moving the switch operating mechanism and also for opening and closing the cover.

A guard member 38 of insulating ilbre or other suitable material is mounted to shield the stationary contact jaws I3 and has holes or slots 3l for the passage of the switch blades 24.

With the switch handle and parts in the full line position indicated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 6, the switch blade ends 24 and 25 will be spaced from, and out of contact with the switch jaws I 9. When it is desired to close the switch the cover must be opened and then the handle 31 may be turned to the position indicated in dot-dash lines in Fig. 2 and in dotted lines in Fig. 5. 'This turning o! the handle moves the pin 33 in an arc and the moving mn, riding in the slot 34, pushes the slide 2li to the left, as shown in Fig. 6. This motion of the parts is indicated by the arrows in Fig. 6.

When the slide 2l is in this new position, it has carried with it the insulating block 2d and the attached switch blades so that now the cover may be closed whereupon the switch jaws it and 2u will be connected'through the blade ends 2d and 2d. A reverse turning of 'the handle will move the parts in the opposite direction when the'cover is open.

Now, because of the mounting oi the switch blades on the cover of the receptacle, whenever the cover-'is opened the switch blades are entirely removed from the switch jaws.

The switch member may be move-d to and from the open circuit position only when the cover is open.

This structure insures an open circuit whenever the receptacle is opened for inspection, re-fusing or replacement of parts. Furthermore, a single handle, operating both the switch and the cover, serves to reduce the number of necessary parts. The small number of parts in the device as a whole, the form and the arrangement of those few parts, makes for simplicity, durability, efficiency and safety. v

The guard member 38 prevents accidental engagement with the contacts when the cover is open and serves to prevent formation of an arc during the opening movement of the switch.

The construction as shown is for use in a 'three-wire system but the invention is, of course, applicable to single-wire or two-wire lines.

I claim:

accesso p l.. i safety switch including a box having` a cover hinged to one edge thereof, a stationary contact mounted in the box and having its main contact surface extending at right angles to the hinged edge of the cover, a slide carried by the cover and slidable in a direction toward and away from the hinged edge, a switch blade carried by said slide and coacting with the stationary contact when the cover is closed, a handle carried by the cover and rotatable about an axis at right angles to the main plane oi the cover, said handle projecting from the cover and serving to 'operate the slide to open the circuit andprovid ing a hand grip for pulling the cover open.

2. A safety switch having a box with a cover hinged at one edge thereof, a slide mounted on the inside of the cover and slidable in a direction toward and away from the hinged edge, a switch blade carried by said slide and having its main Contact surfaces extending at right angles to the hinge axis, a projecting handle mounted on the outside of the cover near the edge opposite the hinge edge and connected to said slide and extending parallel to said hinge axis when the switch blade is in the open circuit position, a stationary contact and a stationary fuse connected thereto and mounted in the box body, said blade being adapted to coact with. said contact when the cover is closed and the handle extends parallel with the hinge edge, said handle furnishing the means for opening the cover of the box and then moving the switch blade to an open 

